Valparai tragedy exposes gaps in ghat driving skills, safety awareness

The tragic accident on Friday evening on the Valparai ghat road near Pollachi, which claimed the lives of nine members of a school teachers’ excursion group from Pang in Malappuram, has drawn attention to the inadequate training provided to young drivers in handling steep ghat roads with varying gradients.

Although it is too early to draw conclusions, road safety experts have expressed concerns about the driving judgment and control of Mohammed Fasith, a 21-year-old from Chunoor near Kottakkal, who was at the wheel when the 16-seater Tempo Traveller plunged nearly 500 metres off the 13th hairpin bend on the Valparai ghat road.